The last absolute monarch in Africa - Read expert review at epinions.com The last absolute monarch in Africa Review by Stephen_Murray in Books, Music, Movies, Hotels & Travel November, 21 2009 Pros: access/willingness-to-be-filmed, well-constructed, music Cons: the dire straits this African kingdom is in, the limits of charm I’m not sure that I would correctly distinguished Swaziland from Lesotho on an unmarked map (Lesotho is entirely surrounded by South Africa, Swaziland’s eastern border is with Mozambique). There must be some absolute monarchy on some Pacific Island, since Swaziland is called the last absolute monarchy in Africa. The astonishing/depressing 2007 documentary “Without the King begins with footage of the investiture King Mswati III, then 18, in 1986. Having never made a public speech before, he was nervous. He has put on weight over the course of his reign but retains charming, readily smiling and saying he cares about his people.

Yet, over the course of his reign of great luxury, the life expectancy of Swati people (Swazi is the Zulu name for them) has dropped from 60 to 31, less than half the population earns more than 50 pence a day, and the HIV seroprevalence of those aged 15-9 is 26.1% (compared to .6% in the US). 38.8% of pregnant women test positive and there are 80,000 AIDS orphans in the country of a million, the size of New Jersey. Allowing an American in his late 20s, Michael Skolnik, a lot of face time, as well as access to his first wife, Queen LaMbikiza, and first child, Princess Sikhanyiso (born in 1987, starting at the evangelical Christian Biola University in LA during the filming). Princess Sikhanyiso is first shown rapping, later, bare-breasted, leading the country’s virgin girls in the annual Dance of the Reeds. Raised in palaces, LA (even an evangelical college) provided many surprises for the princess.

Queen LaMbikiza says she was fully aware that the king would take additional wives when she married. Princess Sikhanyiso recalls that the addition of the first few stepmothers was jolting, but that she is now used to it. The king took a 13th wife from the Reed Dancers, and has added another since. Visiting a clinic for children with AIDS (in conscious emulation of Princess Diana) she looked genuinely shocked. At the Toronto Film Festival screening of the movie, Skolnik reported that the King had not seen the movie. Princess Sikhanyiso had and he reported was further shocked at what she saw I the movie of her country’s malaises and opposition. Perhaps even more astonishing than the royal family’s co-operation is that Swati dissidents agreed do be filmed undisguised criticizing the opulence of the court, dire poverty of the country, and the government in which the judges, prime minister, and a third of the Parliament are appointed by the King. A delegation to the Prime Minister, who had claimed an open-door policy, is shown being turned away and soldiers fire at demonstrators (amidst whom the camera crew is) is another sequence.

There are no foreign talking-head experts (there’s one UN official talking more generally about AIDS in Africa). The charm of the king fades as he claims to follow recommendations of the government that he needs a $50-million jet, etc. Mswati III is not as delusional as Idi_Amin , who allowed Barbet Schroeder similar direct access, confident that it would enhance his international reputation to be himself on film, but comes across as remarkable incurious and indifferent about “his people” and their problems (more W than Dick Cheney and more Halie Selassie (Kapuscinski's Emperor ) than Idi-Amin). Skolnik does not editorialize. There is no need to (who don't tell sometimes works). And an absolute monarch does not need to be bloodthirsty to have dolorous effects. King reportedly has ten billion dollars in a personal account in Saudi Arabia, while more than half the population earns less than $.70 per-day and foreign food aid keeps his subjects alive. There’s no heritage of depopulation to supply slave in Swaziland, and authoritarianism there is justified as tradition (the movie-title abridges “Without the king we would not have our culture”).

Polygamy may thus far have averted civil war, but socioeconomic relations in Swaziland do not seem viable. ©2009, Stephen O. Murray 4 lean-n-mean 8 (and, somewhat obliquely, for my series of look at chronicling migration re: Princess Sikhanyiso) Africa's last absolute monarchy goes to the polls | News | M&G Africa's last absolute monarchy goes to the polls Staff Reporter 19 Sep 2008 09:06 Voters lined up on Friday to cast their ballot in Africa’s last absolute monarchy, Swaziland, to elect lawmakers under a rewritten Constitution that still bars political parties. The run-up to the poll saw wide protests, border blockades and calls for multiparty elections. Political parties in the tiny landlocked mountain kingdom engulfed by South Africa have been banned since 1973. “All of our 342 stations are open and we are anticipating a good turnout,” said Election and Boundaries Commission deputy chairperson Mzwandile Fakudze. The booths opened at 7am local time and were to close 11 hours later.

Candidates contesting seats in Parliament can only stand as independents under the traditional Tinkhundla system. This is the first time elections are being held under the amended Constitution, which came into force in 2006, allowing for freedom of association but still maintaining the ban on political parties. Foreign observers have also been allowed to monitor the elections for the first time. Many voters queued up at the polling stations before they opened. About 300 mostly elderly Swazis—bedecked in bright traditional attire—were lined up outside a booth in the capital, Mbabane’s, Zulwini station. “We have more than six observer missions from different organisations. The vote will be free and fair. We are confident that the process will go on without any disturbances,” Fakudze said. Armed police fanned out across the kingdom monitoring schools and other public buildings being used as polling stations. The candidates are vying for 55 seats in the National Assembly. King Mswati III then nominates 10 others to the house, which picks 10 representatives for the Senate. The king selects 20 others to the upper chamber.

Mswati, who rules the country with his mother, also appoints a prime minister and other top government officials. “Only less than 50 000 of the 400 000 eligible voters have not registered. Our two-month registration campaign and voter awareness attracted a large number of young voters,” said Fakudze. Banned political parties and civil-society groups have been fighting for multiparty elections and the abolition of the monarchy. The king, who keeps a tight grip over the impoverished country of one million, has been flayed by critics for his free-spending lifestyle and his penchant for fast cars, luxurious palaces and extravagant parties. Nomusa Nhleko (32) said she had never voted before but only registered this time around to get a voter card as it was an essential document to access other things such as jobs. “I have been told that when you do not have a voter card it is impossible to access things like scholarships and government jobs for you or your kids,” she said. The elections take place two weeks after the government and the monarch came under fire for staging a $12,2-million bash to celebrate 40 years of independence from Britain as well as the king’s birthday.

Mswati’s country is one of Africa’s poorest, with one of the world’s highest HIV rates, and some have blamed the king’s state-sponsored, extravagant lifestyle for draining Swaziland’s finances.—Sapa-AFP Swaziland: Africa′s last absolute monarchy | Africa | DW.COM | 14.07.2014 Africa Swaziland: Africa's last absolute monarchy It is considered an act of terrorism to criticize King Mswati III. But as Swaziland's banned opposition continues to speak out, the international community turns a blind eye. The People's United Democratic Movement (PUDEMO) is Swaziland's biggest opposition group. Yet in order to speak to its general secretary, Mlungisi Makhanya, you have dial a South African phone number. In Swaziland itself it is listed as a terrorist organization. Makhanya told DW of threats against his life and the unexplained deaths of party members. "Taking a stand against the king and fighting for the freedom of the Swazi people always come with the possibility of physical harm. But we remain committed and determined," he said.

Makhanya believes, criminalizing PUDEMO is a ploy to delegitimize the voice of the Swazi people. In April 2014, human rights campaigners took to the streets to protest the arrest of an editor and a human rights lawyer. Swaziland's opposition continues to defy the ban on its activities. During Labour Day celebrations this year, PUDEMO President Mario Masuku and Maxwell Dlamini, the leader of the banned youth group Swaziland Youth Congress, were both put under arrest. Mark Beacon of the UK-based campaign group Action for Southern Africa (ACTSA), explained that the two politicians had simply spoken on behalf of their own party. "Just making that political speech on Mayday, they have been arrested and charged with terrorism, a charge that could see them face 25 years in prison," he told DW. The two opposition leaders are being kept in custody until the start of their trial in September. In April 2014, PUDEMO General Secretary Makhanya was also arrested for wearing a party T-shirt, as a protest against the imprisonment of the journalist Bheki Makhubu and human rights lawyer, Thulani Maseko . Makhanya has been released on bail.

Bheki Makhubu, editor of the political "The Nation", is under arrest for criticizing the judiciary. The strength of the monarch Swaziland is Africa's last absolute monarchy. King Mswati III has ruled the small country with its one million inhabitants since 1986. In 1973, Mswati's father Sobhuza II banned all political parties and declared a state of emergency, which is still in place today. The king governs the country's 55 administrative divisions, known as Tikhundla, through its chiefs. "A lot of the population in Swaziland are rural subsistent farming communities," said Christopher Vandome of the UK-based think tank Chatham House. "There is a sense of distrust for political parties and political change. There is a support of the king and also of the Tikhundla system, which was developed as a system for community involvement," Vandome told DW. More urgent problems Despite Mswati's firm standing, Beacon believes that there is a growing support for the country's banned opposition parties. "People are calling for some kind of say over their lives," he says.

Reforms are needed on various political fronts, as two-thirds of Swaziland's population lives on less than $1.25 (0.92 Euro) a day and unemployment stands at 40 percent. The country also has the world's highest rate of HIV, affecting more than one in four adults. Swaziland's lack of democracy is therefore not the kingdom's biggest problem, Vandome said. Yet he believes that the economic problems are directly connected to the political system. The monarch controls more or less everything and the needs of the people are ignored. Mswati appoints some of the members of parliament and every decision which parliament takes is subject to his approval. According to PUDEMO General Secretary Makhanya, the parliament is simply a farce to meet the demands of international community. Swaziland's rural community remains sceptical of political parties, says analyst Christopher Vandome. Not an international priority For years, Swaziland has now been teetering on the brink of an economic breakdown. It has always managed to avert a total collapse, yet a US plan to bar Swaziland from the important AGOA trade agreement from 2015 would have a serious impact on the country's textile industry.

The US hopes to sanction the government for its human rights abuses and its harsh anti-terrorism laws. Sugar is another commodity which could take a hit, as its Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) with the European Union runs out at the end of this year. Vandome is uncertain whether the United States' political pressure will have the desired effect."The crisis and the human rights abuses are not as dramatic as in some other countries on the continent," says Vandome. Swaziland has no great mineral wealth and King Mswati III has maintained a good relationship with neighboring South Africa. Countries like Zimbabwe or the Democratic Republic of Congo are internationally of much more interest, said Vandome. They have vast mineral resources. DW recommends Why Democracy Remains Unlikely in Africa's Last Absolute Monarchy | Public Radio International Why Democracy Remains Unlikely in Africa's Last Absolute Monarchy The Arab Spring has shaken the foundations of regimes from Egypt to Libya. But could its ripples spread south to Swaziland? Player utilities <iframe frameborder="0" src="" height="75" width="100%"></iframe> Swaziland is one of the smallest countries in Africa, positioned between South Africa and Mozambique.

It faces big challenges: a crumbling economy, a devastating HIV/AIDS epidemic and one of the lowest life expectancy rates in the world. Swaziland is also the continent's last remaining absolute monarchy: King Mswati III rules with few constraints but he also presides over a people growing in anger. A few years ago, King Mswati agreed to be interviewed for an American documentary, called Without the King. He made this argument: "We can only succeed if we are all of us together. But if that one pulls in that direction, and that one pulls in that direction, the problems will overcome us instead of us overcoming the problems." Today that ideal of the Swazi nation pulling together rings hollow for people like Sizwe, a youth leader in the country's largest city. He lays the blame for Swaziland's troubles squarely at the feet of the King. "Of late, I really hate him," he says. "I'm sorry, but to me he's as good as dead." King Mswati III is 43-years-old. He inherited the crown from his father in 1986, along with a fortune that's estimated now to stand at around 100 million dollars.

He's taken fourteen wives, and—say his critics—he enjoys a lifestyle of palaces and plenty. In contrast, most of his subjects live on less than two dollars a day. Some have taken to the streets in protest. Swaziland's constitution provides for freedom of expression. But in practice, political parties are banned and authorities have often met political demonstrations with violence. Still, the protests continue. In recent weeks trade union members, students, and even lawyers, have gathered in their hundreds to vent their frustrations. But King Mswati is in no immediate danger of being overthrown by his people, partly because he commands a powerful security force. But that's not the only reason. Many, like 21-year-old Zama Simelane, believe he's not to blame. "It's the people who are close to him that are actually making these huge decisions," she contends. "It's just the way the government is being run." The way the government is being run is the King's way. But there's another reason why Mswati remains strong despite his critics.

"It is a struggle by the people within people," according to Mario Masuku, who leads one of the banned political groups, the People's United Democratic Movement. "There [are] no racial concerns, there [are] no ethnic concerns. It is just a people within themselves." Masuku's point is that almost all Swazis share a common heritage, including a common tribal link with their King. Mswati isn't a colonizer, or even an exotic strongman like Muammar Gaddafi. But for Masuku, he's not above reproach either. "Our culture in Swaziland has been politicized," he says. For example, he continues, King Mswati has taken to appointing tribal chiefs instead of allowing titles to be handed down through birth. That's shored up his position. But most Swazis aren't aware of such political machinations. They just want their voices to be heard, and freely. That's not an easy thing to achieve, says Hleli Luhlanga, who directs the Swaziland Young Women's Network. "When we go to the communities to empower people we have to answer to the police," she says.

"They want to know what our agenda is all about." Talking about politics directly isn't possible, adds Luhlanga. "That's a no-go zone. You are not allowed." Then again, maybe change is just a matter of time: it came to Swaziland's neighbors: South Africa, Malawi, and Mozambique. Recently it's come to some north African countries too. But Sizwe, the youth activist, says that democracy in Swaziland needs help from outside, even if it's only the oxygen of international attention. "We are not getting the attention the other countries are getting, solely because we don't have anything in hand," he complains. "If you look at Libya, you look at Tunisia, almost all those northern countries, they are rich in oil, they have minerals. So when you bring up the Swazi case, what does Swaziland have? If I try to help Swaziland, what will I get in return?" For neighboring South Africa at least, there would be something in return: stability across its border. Recently, the South African government offered Swaziland a financial lifeline in exchange for a set of reforms, some fiscal, others political.

Those political reforms would amount to baby steps only. Regardless, King Mswati has so far chosen to reject the offer. Alex Gallafent reported from Swaziland on a fellowship from the International Reporting Project. Research Group Calls for Reforms in Africa’s Last Absolute Monarchy Research Group Calls for Reforms in Africa’s Last Absolute Monarchy September 13, 2013 10:49 AM Anita Powell Mswati III, King of Swaziland (L) tours the exhibition hall during the first day of the World Energy Forum at the Dubai World Trade Centre, Oct. 22, 2012. Share Email to a Friend Print JOHANNESBURG — Respected research organization Chatham House is calling for urgent reforms in Africa’s last absolute monarchy, Swaziland - and warns that the impoverished mountain kingdom will suffer economically otherwise. The nation is preparing for parliamentary elections later this month, a vote that comes as its financial situation worsens.

The Chatham House report describes Africa’s last absolute monarchy as being “on a non-sustainable trajectory, which the king and the government will ignore at their peril." Swaziland is struggling financially, partly because of global trends, but also, the report’s authors say, because the country’s political situation does not inspire investor confidence. The royal household is famed for its lavish lifestyle, but that wealth is not spread around. The UN estimates that about 63 percent of Swazis live below the poverty line. In recent years, the economic situation has inspired mass protests, which have met a fierce response by security forces. Increasingly, critics blame the nation’s problems on the monarchy’s spending habits and refusal to democratize the country. Report author Chris Vandome says this upcoming vote can present a springboard for change. “This is going to be an opportunity for pressure on the government and pressure for political reform. There isn’t scope in the Swazi domestic market to fill the void that the loss of revenue from outside will have. This is because of the political system. There is no link between the democratic process and the executive process; the executive process being the king,” said Vandome.

Royal household's lavish lifestyle King of Swaziland Mswati III (Front) and one of his 13 wives disembark from a plane after arriving at Katunayake International airport in Colombo, Sri Lanka, August 13, 2012. The landlocked nation wedged between South Africa and Mozambique is jointly ruled by King Mswati III and his mother, Queen Ntombi, who is known as “the Great She-Elephant” (Ndlovukazi). Although Swaziland has a parliament, the monarch appoints the prime minister and a number of lawmakers, including two-thirds of the Senate. The king is the reigning executive, and serves for life. The report’s authors say that if the king does nothing to change Swaziland’s trajectory, the nation will sink further into poverty. That, they warn, will destabilize the nation and affect Swaziland’s neighbors and the region. The report’s authors hope the king will heed their warning by executing urgent reforms and allowing reform-minded politicians into the government after parliamentary elections this month. The issue in these elections, however, is that any reform-minded candidate faces an unfair race because political parties are banned during the campaign.

That means there is no coherent opposition that can effectively challenge the status quo. Vincent Ncongwane, who heads the Trade Union Congress of Swaziland, proposes some serious changes as well. “Our view is that it would not be a problem to have a constitutional monarch. But ours is executive. And the problem is that if anything goes wrong, it is difficult in our culture to criticize the doings of the king. So this is why we would want to have as an executive someone like a prime minister who has been elected in and can be taken out of office,” said Ncongwane. South Africa leverage Chatham House's Vandome says that neighboring South Africa may have leverage - the king failed to secure a $240 million (R2.4 billion) loan from South Africa in 2011, after he refused to accept some of the loan conditions, such as political reforms. Ncongwane says that he thinks that outside pressure may be the only thing the monarch may respond to. “We think that it’s about time that countries that have got the necessary power also bring it to the attention of the powers that be that this process has to stop somewhere.

The locals, the Swazis, are trying to demonstrate against this and put across their views. But that doesn’t count for much because our government is more concerned about what the international community will say or do. … They wouldn’t care less about what the locals are saying because, what power do the locals have? Nothing,” said Ncongwane. Those locals will go to the polls on September 20. Swaziland Media Muzzled in Africa’s Last Absolute Monarchy Swaziland Media Muzzled in Africa’s Last Absolute Monarchy August 19, 2014 12:56 PM Anita Powell King Mswati III of Swaziland and wife Inkhosikati La Mbikiza arrive for a dinner hosted by President Barack Obama for the U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit, at the White House in Washington, Aug. 5, 2014. Share See comments JOHANNESBURG — Media freedom is under attack in the African kingdom of Swaziland, claim journalists who say they face constant harassment.

The journalists from Africa’s last absolute monarchy say the king has throttled the media to advance his own interests and protect his wealth in a nation with some of the world’s highest rates of poverty, unemployment and AIDS. From the outside, the tiny, landlocked nation of Swaziland looks like it has a disproportionate share of problems. According to a scathing report from U.S.-based think tank Freedom House , 43 percent of Swazis live in chronic poverty, a quarter of adults have HIV, and life expectancy is a mere 48 years. But journalists and activists from Africa’s last absolute monarchy say they are all but forbidden from publishing any stories that paint their country in a negative light. Censorship, prison The nation’s leadership underscored that point last month, when a prominent journalist and a human rights lawyer were sentenced to two years’ imprisonment for an article that criticized the judicial system. Journalist Nqobile Hlatswhayo heads the Media Workers Union of Swaziland, and he said journalists face strong pressure to censor their own work.

“Journalists are expected to toe the line and only report positive messages about the country and about cultural activities, what is government doing for the people, and all that," said Hlatswhayo. "But they are expected to bury bad stories that can, like they say, paint the country badly outside.” Swazi Observer managing editor Mbongeni Mbingo, said he nearly lost his job over a 2009 article that he did not even write. His piece, he said, was a mere accounting of the king’s fleet of luxury cars. But when media in neighboring South Africa got hold of the details, he said they spun it into a tale of an insensitive monarch who spends profligately on luxuries while his people starve. “It did get me into a lot of water. Hot, hot water. I could have lost my job over it, and I am grateful I did not, and it is one era of my career that I look at and say, ‘I survived that bullet,’” he said. Respect vs. freedoms Like many people living in Swaziland, Mbingo walks a tightrope between reverence for his king and his demand for basic freedoms.

“I think our perspective when we published those stories was partly to say, the king drives in such a car befitting his status. So it is something that we, you know, we hold the king in very high esteem in our country, and we also want to see that he gets what befits his status as a king," said Mbingo. "So if he gets a new car, the Swazi public must know that, okay, the king has these type of wheels because because, maybe one could say, he deserves to have that type of car.” Biut activist Mandla Hlatshwayo said that while he respects the institution of the monarchy, he has no love for the current king. He said unshackling the media is the first step toward turning things around in Swaziland. “It will improve everyone’s life. It will even improve the outlook of those in power, because they cannot wish away the voice of the ordinary people," he said. "It will also inform the world in terms of its engagement with Swaziland not to actually avoid the real issues. So if the media was free, I think many people in Swaziland who are in power will have nowhere to hide.

But right now they are able to ensure that nobody has information.” Nqobile Hlatshwayo, who also writes for the Observer, said that despite the constraints upon her, however, there is no place she would rather be. “I want to be there when my country changes for the better. I want to be there when dissenting voices will not be suppressed. And I want to make sure that activism is allowed in Swaziland. And if I do not get that bullet - who will?” she asked. Until that day, she said, she waits and hopes. Swaziland’s King Mswati III – Profile of Africa’s last absolute monarch | Newstime Africa Swaziland’s King Mswati III – Profile of Africa’s last absolute monarch King Mswati III of Swaziland MANZINI, April 12, 2011 (AFP) – Africa’s last absolute monarch, Swaziland’s King Mswati III, has enraged his impoverished nation by enjoying a lifestyle of unchecked luxury while demanding salary cuts from civil servants. Mswati has 13 wives and a fortune estimated at $100 million, placing him on Forbes magazine’s list of the 15 richest monarchs in the world.

The 42-year-old king, who assumed the throne in 1986 at the age of 18, has a penchant for fast cars, luxury palaces and extravagant parties. In a country where nearly 70 percent of people live on less than a dollar a day, he has caused controversy by building million-dollar palaces for each of his wives, giving them BMWs and personal staff and sending them on overseas shopping sprees by private jet. To rein in government spending and qualify for international loans, Swaziland wants to slash salaries for civil servants, which last month sparked rare street protests. Born on April 19, 1968, only four months before Swaziland attained independence from Britain, Mswati is, like the country he rules, a curious mix of traditional African and modern Western influences. Educated at Sherborne school in the south of Britain, he is as likely to appear in public in a stylish suit and tie as the traditional blanket wrap and red-feathered crown he is often photographed in. He has embraced Western-style market-driven economic policies, but has refused to loosen the monarchy’s grip on power.

Besides acting as head of state and commander in chief, the king appoints his cabinet and prime minister — currently the staunchly loyalist Barnabas Dlamini — and maintains tight control over parliamentary elections. Political parties have been banned in the kingdom since 1973. Respect for the monarchy runs deep among Swazi people, who take their name from the current king’s 19th-century forebear Mswati II, but patience with the royal family has appeared to be running thin in recent years. Mswati sparked outrage in 2002 when he tried to lease a $48 million private jet in the middle of a drought that left a quarter of the population in need of food aid. The same year, the mother of 18-year-old Zena Mahlangu said royal aides had kidnapped her daughter to become the king’s 10th wife. Mswati had reportedly spotted Mahlangu at the annual reed dance, a ceremony in which tens of thousands of bare-breasted virgins dance for the king. When Mahlangu’s mother took the matter to court, the presiding judges claimed Mswati’s henchmen had threatened them.

The entire high court resigned later that year when the king refused to abide by the six judges’ ruling in the case of 200 families evicted in eastern Swaziland so Prince Maguga, Mswati’s brother, could live on their land. The king’s marital life has continued to be at the centre of numerous controversies and scandals. The king again caused a stir in 2003 when he picked his 11th wife, 17-year-old Noliqwa Ntentesa, admitting to violating his own decree banning sex for women under 18 — a bid to halt the spread of HIV in the country with the world’s worst infection rate, 25.9 percent. In 2008, a 19-year-old woman reportedly ran away to South Africa to escape becoming wife number 14. Last year, Justice Minister Ndumiso Mamba resigned amid allegations of a love affair with Mswati’s 12th wife. A palace source told AFP 22-year-old Nothando Dube, a former Miss Teen Swaziland, would disguise herself as a soldier to sneak out of her palace to meet the minister. Mswati has 23 children.

According to the Swaziland National Trust, his father, King Sobhuza II, had 70 wives and 210 children. © 2011, Newstime Africa . All rights reserved. – The views expressed here are purely those of the author and not necessarily those of the publishers. – Newstime Africa content cannot be reproduced in any form – electronic or print – without prior consent of the Publishers. Copyright infringement will be pursued and perpetrators prosecuted. 26,559 total views, 11 views today Swaziland, an absolute monarchy in Africa - France 24 Swaziland, an absolute monarchy in Africa Tweet In Swaziland, King Mswati III not only chooses his prime minister and government but also has the pick of the nation when it comes to finding a bride. This country located in south-eastern Africa was built on tradition and culture, and currently there is no place for democracy. However groups fighting for freedom are gaining momentum, but their work is slow and dangerous. Every year, King Mswati III of Swaziland brings together all the virgins from his kingdom. During the vibrant and elaborate ceremony, the monarch can at any time chose a new wife from among the participants.

Behind the picture perfect traditional African image, Swaziland is a monarchy to be reckoned with. The king alone appoints the prime minister, and rules by decree. Political parties are forbidden and human rights regularly violated. FRANCE 24 went behind the scenes to meet the opposition. MARK OWEN Presenter and journalist News, Sport, any live broadcast situation: he is at home with big interviews, breaking news stories or being hoisted high by celebrating rugby fans! From Liverpool, supports Everton. Calendar © 2017 Copyright France 24 – All rights reserved France 24 is not responsible for the content of external websites With your existing account from... {* loginWidget *} Your account has been deactivated. Email address Not Verified You must verify your email address before signing in. Check your email for your verification email, or enter your email address in the form below to resend the email. {* #resendVerificationForm *} {* signInEmailAddress *} Almost Done! Please confirm the information below before signing in. {* #socialRegistrationForm *} {* firstName *} {* lastName *} {* emailAddress *} {* displayName *} {* phone *} {* addressCity *} {* addressCountry *} By clicking "Create Account", you confirm that you accept our terms of service and have read and understand privacy policy .

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While last week’s issue contained a detailed analysis of Sheikha Mayassa of Qatar’s art patronage , an article discussing presidential motorcades this week, You Got a Fast Car , describes King Mswati III of Swaziland’s lavish collection of automobiles. The Tracy Chapman song referenced in the article’s headline is about a young woman’s attempts to escape poverty but the lavish Swazi motorcade draws attention to the divide between the opulent lifestyle of the royal family and the challenges faced by their subjects. The Economist correspondent explains, “The Swazi regal convoy can be up to 20 cars long. The king’s favourite vehicles include a $625,000 Rolls Royce, a $500,000 Maybach 62 and a BMW X6. He also has 20 Mercedes Benz S600 Pullman Guards, costing $250,000 each, many of them armoured. Warrior guards in traditional dress including an “Emajobo” or loin skin travel with the king.

“These men emerge from cars already sprinting,” said one local observer.” Although he reigns in the 21st century, King Mswati faced the same mixed responses to this show of wealth that absolute monarchs have always encountered from the their subjects. The correspondent observes that some Swazis are disgusted by the King’s lavish spending while others express pride that Swaziland presents the finest state motorcade in Africa. The mounting criticism of the opulence of the Swazi court has received extensive international attention in the past few decades. These objections mirror the discontent that emerged when past absolute rulers lost the popular image of representing the grandeur of their kingdoms and instead appeared to be insensitive to the struggles of their subjects. The 2007 documentary, Without the King presents an extremely unflattering portrayal of the Swazi royal family. The filmakers interviewed King Mswati, the third of his thirteen current wives, Queen LaMbikiza, and his eldest daughter, aspiring actress and rapper, Princess Sikhanyiso to gain insights into the inner workings of the court.

Princess Sikhanyiso, the eldest daughter of King Mswati III at the 2006 Reed Dance In the film, the Princess is seen engaging in charity work but the King rationalizes his absolute rule and lavish lifestyle. The numerous palaces, private jets and fancy cars enjoyed by the King are contrasted with the poverty experienced by many of his subjects. Swaziland has the highest rate of HIV infection in the world (at least 26% of adults) and one of the lowest life expectancies (48 years as of 2012). A 2005 general strike included participants holding signs that read “No to more palaces, cars and parties,” a reference to $20 millon the King spent building eight palaces in 2004. King Farouk I of Egypt The perception of insensitive extravagance has cost previous absolute monarchs their thrones. One of the most recent African examples is King Farouk I of Egypt who reigned from 1936 until he was deposed in 1952. Farouk was famous for his lavish lifestyle, encompassing dozens of palaces, hundred of cars and lavish shopping sprees in Europe.

There were rumours that he ate 600 oysters a week. Criticism of this lifestyle increased when he showed insensitivity to the hardships experienced by his subjects during the Second World War. He kept his palace in Alexandria fully lit while the city’s other inhabitants experienced a blackout due to German and Italian bombing. This reputation for luxury combined with insensitivity directly precipitated his removal from the throne in 1952. Farouk continued his lavish lifestyle after he was deposed, dying at the table of a fancy French restaurant after a large gourmet meal in 1965. The political future of Swaziland’s royal family remains uncertain. Four days of popular protests are planned for April 12 to mark the anniversary of the 1973 ban on political parties. The King appears unwilling allow his kingdom to evolve into a constitutional monarchy but, as the Economist states, reactions to his extravagance continue to be mixed, preventing a unified opposition to his absolute rule.

Swaziland's vibrant tourist industry masks a hunger for democracy | World news | The Guardian Swaziland Swaziland's vibrant tourist industry masks a hunger for democracy The tiny nation plays on its status as the only absolute monarchy in Africa – but citizens demand democracy as well as tradition King Mswati III dances in front of young virgins at a traditional reed dance ceremony. About 20,000 women attend the yearly event, where they might be added to the ranks of the king's 13 wives. Photograph: Per-Anders Pettersson/Getty Images Wednesday 11 April 2012 14.38 EDT First published on Wednesday 11 April 2012 14.38 EDT Close This article is 4 years old Culture and tradition are big selling points for Swaziland. Tourists looking for "the real Africa" are encouraged to see the big five wild animals on safari, visit villages or witness the annual Umhlanga (reed dance), in which more than 20,000 bare-breasted young maidens hope to catch the eye of the king, should he wish to add to his present tally of 13 wives.

"A tiny country with a big heart and warm, friendly people aptly describes Swaziland – a country that is the only absolute monarchy in Africa and which embraces and upholds its own unique and ancient traditions," says the national tourism authority . "These are carefully guarded and faithfully celebrated and are just one aspect of the kingdom that makes it a very special place to visit." What few admirers of the mountains, forests and valleys hear are the voices of discontent: those who call King Mswati III a despot and dictator; the allegations of extrajudicial killings and torture; the civil society activists who live in fear of tapped phones and snooped emails; the journalists and judges who toe the line of state control; the suffering of a people, 63% of whom live in poverty and 26% of whom are HIV positive; the protests planned for Thursday, the 39th anniversary of absolute rule; and the whispers of revolt that could emulate the Arab spring by toppling the king. These voices portray a darker side of Swaziland's "unique and ancient traditions".

They call Mswati an African Nero fiddling while his country burns, an arrogant playboy relishing banquets, fast cars and private jets while many of his million subjects go hungry. They blame rituals, in which old men take child brides and celebrate promiscuity, for helping spread Aids. They say the "old ways" do not justify fascist tendencies and the evisceration of human rights. "Dictator is a fair word," said a spokesman for the lobby group the Swaziland Coalition of Concerned Civic Organisations, who did not wish to be named for fear of recriminations. "This is not a totalitarian regime. This is an authoritarian regime. It doesn't have an ideological purity like North Korea or like what used to be in Cuba. "The king is interested in more money, more power, more women. The regime has normalised abnormality." Swaziland gained independence from Britain in 1968 under Mswati's father, King Sobhuza II, whose nominal reign of almost 83 years was a world record; he had 70 wives and 218 children.

On 12 April 1973, he repealed the constitution and banned political parties, making himself absolute ruler. One right the king does not enjoy is the choice of his successor from his plethora of children. After Sobhuza died in 1982, Mswati was steered into power by his canny mother, and he performed the ceremonial ritual of slaying a lion to inherit the throne. In the years since, he has become ever more anachronistic on a democratising, economically vibrant continent . One of the wealthiest kings in the world, with a fortune estimated at $100m (£63m), he reigns over a country that was once an oasis of peace surrounded by anti-apartheid protests and civil war in South Africa and Mozambique – but now is the sole country in the region that does not at least pay lip service to multi-party voting. Elections are held but the king appoints the prime minister, cabinet and a portion of parliament, supported by powerful local chiefs in a system known as tinkhundla. "We hear nothing and understand nothing about Magna Carta in Swaziland," said one legal expert.

"The judges of the high court once said: 'Democracy, like beauty, is in the eye of the beholder.'" Insulting the king is legally defined as an act of terrorism. Among those who have felt the regime's wrath is Maxwell Dlamini , 22, a pro-democracy activist and president of the Swaziland National Union of Students. In April last year he was stopped near the South African border, pushed into a police van and quizzed over his role in a planned "uprising". "In the interrogation room they assaulted me with fists and open hands and kicked me," he said last week. "It was the time of the Arab spring so there were a lot of worries in the region. They said I had brought weapons and explosives from South Africa to bring about an armed insurrection. They made me strip and lie on a bench and wound rope around me. A police officer almost suffocated me with a plastic bag." After an ordeal lasting five hours, Dlamini said he was taken to a faraway police station where he was held in darkness with no food or water. At 11pm he was taken to an interrogation room and tortured again in a similar manner.

He added: "I still have the after-effects. I'm traumatised, I hallucinate. I can't stay in my room on my own." Dlamini was charged with possessing explosives and spent 10 months in jail. "It was hell. Sometimes I was kept in isolation for a week. There were insects: you just have a rash on the first day, but they eat you. There were 68 people in a small cell with two toilets and no running water. The food is very poor." Dlamini had been sentenced to 32 months but was released on 50,000 lilangeni (£4,000) bail – a national record. He has vowed to continue the struggle. "I want the people of Swaziland to live in a democratic dispensation and my children to enjoy fundamental human rights," he said. "If death, arrest, torture is necessary for the accomplishment of this just cause, then let it be." Frustration with the king's autocratic rule, and the prospect of economic ruin, triggered unprecedented public demonstrations on 12 April last year. The state responded with a brutal show of force involving riot police, teargas and mass arrests.

Another protest is planned for the anniversary on Thursday. Most campaigners are not necessarily demanding a republic. "We are not wanting to wipe away the monarchy," said Wandile Dludlu, national co-ordinator of the Swaziland United Democratic Front. "There are many European countries that still have them today. But when they consistently resist change, history shows that they have tended to be wiped away. Here, if the monarchy proves an impediment to democracy, it will have to face the wrath of the masses. If the king stands in the way of progress, we'll push him out." Dludlu described the king as a "gallivanter" who recently added a Rolls-Royce and Mercedes to his car collection and enjoys a hedonistic whirl of cocktail parties, "orgies" and shopping trips to Dubai. "It is daylight robbery, using taxpayers' money. The king is extravagant. He doesn't live in this world. He's setting a problematic trend, encouraging everyone to be more excessive right beside naked, abject poverty. Swazis are being strangled by a mafia." Others tell of a sinister culture of state surveillance, including plainclothes operatives.

Thulani Maseko, a member of Lawyers for Human Rights, said: "We all feel that whatever you say to someone on the other side of the phone is being recorded. So you do feel a sense of insecurity from time to time." Not everyone is a dissident, however. Three in four Swazis live in rural areas, where loyalty to the king runs deep. Children are told stories of his magical powers such as the ability to induce rain, turn himself into a cat or make himself invisible to his enemies. In the national language, the words for chief, king and god are similar. To criticise the king can be seen as an abomination. "The king is the mouth that tells no lie," one saying holds. The king and queen mother have shored up their popularity by distributing free food and blankets to villagers, who typically blame politicians for their troubles instead. Local chiefs, who have the power to confiscate land, also help to preserve the status quo. Mbabane, the administrative capital, has a population of about 100,000 and is the country's largest city.

A half-hour drive away, at a clinic in the village of Gilgal, Ncamsile Mkhwanazi, 36, said: "The king is a very good leader. I wish I was one of his wives." Martha Sibande, 72, who runs a medical practice, said: "I don't trust democracy in Africa. We had an influx of Mozambicans here: they ate all the goods and said they were fighting for democracy. This country has been ruled by kings for over 400 years. You can't come and tell me democracy is right. "If Swazis say they want democracy, they must show us, where is Gaddafi? Look at Iraq as well, the leader slaughtered. If they want democracy, they must leave the country. In Swaziland, if you plough the field, you get food. If you work hard, then you live well. You don't kill." Political activists say such views are largely attributable to propaganda from TV and radio, which remain tightly state-controlled. The government recently announced a crackdown on Facebook and Twitter and the country's two daily newspapers fare little better.

In January, the chief editor of the state-owned Swazi Observer was fired after publishing interviews with banned pro-democracy groups; he fled to South Africa saying he feared for his life. Last month, the Swazi Observer published a routine report taken from the international newswires concerning the king's friend, President Teodoro Obiang of Equatorial Guinea. A week later it was forced to print a prominent apology for appearing to "undermine the person and integrity" of Obiang. But Bheki Mahubu, editor of the independent monthly magazine the Nation , who was jailed in 1999 for criminal defamation, believes the media should be bolder. "I think we're living through that period of 'Let them eat cake' except that we haven't reacted to it," he said. "There's a lot of bullying that goes on in Swaziland. If we journalists were to speak out for ourselves more strongly and say, 'This is unacceptable,' they would probably change. "There is a lot of acceding to government demands when it's not necessary. Any bully becomes accustomed to getting away with it.

Swaziland is like an abused woman who says, 'I started it – he's a loving guy.'" The Swazi royal family is celebrated as a fixed point in a changing world, a bulwark of African heritage against the march of modernity and globalisation. But opponents argue that "culture" and "tradition" are used as a convenient figleaf and indulged by the international community, which has been slower to condemn Mswati than other autocrats such as Zimbabwe's Robert Mugabe. Musi Masuku, Swazi programme manager of the Open Society Initiative of Southern Africa , said: "I want Swaziland to be seen as a blot in the region, which is a sea of democracy: every country around us is trying to hold on to the democratic ideal. "Sometimes we see Zimbabwe as much better than us because at least political parties are the norm – at least Mugabe has to renew his mandate with the people. "The belief is everyone is treating this government with kid gloves because they like the exotic story and every year they see the girls dancing and the king wearing animal skin robes. They seem to want to preserve the traditional culture. I am traditional.

But I want democracy as well: they can exist side by side." The Swazi government, however, says the country is already a democracy. "Very much so," insists Percy Simelane, its press secretary. "To say that Swaziland is democratic is an understatement. People don't understand our elections. Me and you at grassroots level can vote for someone who goes straight to parliament, as opposed to a situation where the electorate votes for a political party who imposes candidates on them. I'm still to come across a situation where the king dictates to his people. In Swaziland nobody has a concentration of power. "The people report to the government, the government reports to the king, the king reports to the people. It's a cycle and everybody participates. I have no reason to say this is a dictatorship." Simelane also rejected criticism of the king's luxurious lifestyle in one of the world's most unequal societies. "I've never seen a poor king anywhere in the world. All kings and heads of state are above their subjects. "In September 2007 I was London and walked from Buckingham Palace to the Guard House and I came across beggars. Poverty has no nationality – there are gaps all over the world.

It's not unique to Swaziland."

Question: Which is the last absolute monarchy in Africa?
Answer: Swaziland